For me ACE medical is the core part because otherwise the gameplay mostly just feels like run&gun and the medic isn't really satisfying to play (and if I want that run&gun I would rather just play BF or any game like that instead of ARMA). But If there is another mod that does the same as ACE medical but has lesser size, etc. I would also be onboard with it.
Other than the medical stuff I think the only thing I would really miss is the repairing of actual components on vehicles & changing tires, etc because it makes the engineer a bit more satisfying.
Everything else that ACE offers is definitly nice but not a must have in my opinion.

Personally I would just stick with vanilla maps for the beginning and see how it plays out/if the server even gets populated again. These maps also look best anyways.
As for the rest: I would also just give it a go with TFAR, ACE and RHS for example as that offers everything that is needed. Everything on top tends to be just "shiny new toys" that aren't really needed in my opinion.

As always when staff changes: Please update the "Staff list & hierarchy"-post. (https://forums.ahoyworld.net/topic/9333-staff-list-hierarchy/) Also you might want to add a "XML-Manager" position for Janxol in there.

Feels bad that you`re leaving as you always had an open ear for improvement-ideas, etc and were one of the most helpful and friendly staff members. Anyways good luck along the path and as that crazy-AWE-boat-guy that I am, I very much like that the Navy was your choice!

AW MVP 2018: @kennychr
AW most friendly admin/staff member 2018: @Chuck
AW most helpful admin/staff member 2018: @Mark T
AW most helpful user *Non-staff* 2018: @Stanhope
AW strictest admin/staff member 2018: @Solex
AW most absent staff member 2018: @SkullCollector
AW most active staff member 2018: @Lindi
AW friendliest user 2018: @Amentes
AW most tacti-cool ARMA player 2018: there is just no way it isn´t @MoonFire
AW most incoherent ARMA player 2018: @Noah_Hero because either I was not not around, or a lot around and when around I was either super serious or getting annoyed and started to meme or just insta-Alt+F4ed.
AW best ARMA pilot 2018: @Amentes
AW worst ARMA pilot 2018: this guy backflipping his heli:
AW funniest person on Teamspeak 2018: @MoonFire
AW best drunk member 2018: Cpt. Liver-failure aka @Johnson
AW best moment 2018 (can be in any game or on teamspeak/forum): starting this:
AW best forum post 2018 (please put url in): according to @MoonFire definitly (he loved that one)
AW best driver 2018: @Johnson as no powlers were flipped this year
AW worst driver 2018: still @Amentes
AW best baby 2018: idk @fir_nevs
AW best fail 2018: biggest fail has to be starting to host SQUAD as it failed miserably
AW best banned member 2018: @TheScar
AW best TeamSpeak channel of 2018: Navigation Deck
AW best game of 2018: Arma3
AW best official server of 2018: AWE

Just for reference: Zeusing was never random but there where a few moderators like KPJ who did great missions just midweek-straight-outta-nowhere within Stiletto/AWE, or just stopped the mission-AI and builded a completely new random mission from scratch but before you joined the server there was a bit of ranting and rage-quitting so now we have no more of them left.